Why the function of UX is crucial in building successful ventures
At The Delta, we build human-centred experiences that are easy to understand, use and offer engaging and consistent user experiences. This is because we know that products that don’t consider the needs of the consumer are ultimately doomed to fail.
As designer and writer, Frank Chimero, says: ‘People ignore design that ignores people’. This is something that Lizette Roussouw — Head of UX Research & Design at The Delta — always keeps in mind when embarking on new ventures. Every product or service has an experience, and Lizette and her team want to ensure that they plan out, think through and design positive experiences that ensure all users come back for more. Because a great user experience equates to a successful product.
Unlike UI design, which focuses on the user interface and layout of an application, UX is more analytical and relies heavily on research and data when it comes to design decisions. As such, another part of the UX role is to ensure that every voice is being brought to the table and being heard. The voice of the business, the client and the user. Finding the balance might, at times, be difficult, but it’s important that everyone’s needs and objectives are being met. The only way this can be done is by working together, being willing to compromise and through effective communication. It’s also crucial that you separate your personal feelings and opinions from the projects you work on and that the team stays in-the-know when it comes to industry trends.
Design by people, for people
According to the findings of a study conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group in 2019, UX as a field has grown significantly over the last few years, and they received responses from 65 countries — a substantial jump from 35 just six years prior.
This doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t still challenges facing this space.
Lizette feels that if everyone understood the value that research and users’ perspective provides, so many present and future problems could be avoided. At the end of the day, the users are the people who determine the success or failure of a venture. The UX department at The Delta might be fairly new, but that has given the team the ability to establish processes and find the best way to work together — within their department and with the company at large — in a way that favours customer experience over company self-interest.
In this digital era we live in, we can find that our voice gets lost in the endless sea of voices. Who will hear us? This is why the UX role is such an important one when it comes to the success of a product or venture. Lizette says that it is so much more than just creating useful products. It’s about being able to make people’s lives easier and sometimes change them for the better. It could be something big or something small, but it’s not the size that matters. It’s that we changed or influenced someone’s life.
As former COO at Squarespace, Jesse Hertzberg, once said: ‘Focus unswervingly on the customer’. This will stand you in good stead to build products and ventures that make an impact.
Want to build a human-centred experience that addresses the wants and needs of your customers?? The Delta is a venture-development company that co-creates businesses and products with leading corporations and entrepreneurs. Get in touch with us here.
All views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever which The Delta have been, are now, or will be affiliated with.
